C 462
A carriage drove along the main road.
It seemed to have traveled a long way, as the carriage's roof was thick with dust, and the horse pulling the carriage showed signs of exhaustion.
A boy who still looked very young was driving the horse from the driver's seat, and a girl with a mysterious atmosphere sat beside him.
They were none other than Do Yeonsan and Eun-Yo.
Pyo Wol was lying on the carriage's roof with his arm as a pillow, looking up at the sky.
They had separated from the Zigong merchant group in Yueqing and moved independently.
To avoid Guryongsalmak's eyes, they deliberately avoided entering the city and slept outdoors.
As a result, they arrived here without any problems.
Suddenly, Do Yeonsan called out to Pyo Wol.
"Brother!"
Pyo Wol got up and looked at Do Yeonsan, who pointed his finger in front of him.
"It looks like a city."
"A city?"
"Yes!"
Pyo Wol looked in the direction Do Yeonsan was pointing.
A fairly large city could be seen on the horizon.
It was definitely Soyang, their first destination.
At that moment, a young boy opened the carriage window and poked his head out.
The boy who looked younger than Do Yeonsan was none other than Nam Shin-woo.
Wind Saint sat next to Nam Shin-woo.
His complexion was pale.
His injury from Baek Ho-gyeong had not yet healed.
He'd been practicing the wind martial arts on the carriage ride, but his wounds were too deep to heal completely.
For that reason, Wind Saint chose to move with Pyo Wol.
It was true that Baek Ho-gyeong had retreated after being badly wounded by Pyo Wol, but it was clear from his cruel and persistent nature that he would not back down easily.
In that case, Wind Saint thought it would be better to use Pyo Wol as a shield and move together.
Pyo Wol accepted Wind Saint's request, and they decided to move together to Soyang.
Soyang was a fairly large city.
Naturally, there were quite a few doctors, and among them, there were some who could be called famous.
Wind Saint planned to receive treatment from them.
"In Soyang, there's a place called the Gi Family clinic. Gi Family clinic is literally a medical clinic owned by the Gi family, and it has been famous for its extraordinary medical skills since ancient times."
"Was there such a place?"
"It's natural you wouldn't know. The owner of Gi Family clinic is rarely in Soyang due to his wandering nature. That's why it's not well-known. If his descendants have even half his skills, they should be able to cure my internal injuries with ease."
Pyo Wol nodded at Wind Saint's words.
There were many unknown sects in Kangho. Among them, there were places with mysterious abilities and tremendous power.
Pyo Wol thought Gi Family clinic was one of those places.
He said to Do Yeonsan,
"Let's hurry. We'll stay in Soyang tonight."
"Okay!"
It seemed close at first glance, but it was actually quite far away.
They had to move quickly to get to Soyang before sunset.
Do Yeonsan said to the horse pulling the carriage.
"Once we're there, I'll give you good food and plenty of rest."
The horse seemed encouraged and pulled the carriage with more strength.
Thanks to that, they arrived in Soyang before sunset.
Soyang was a large city, just as it appeared from afar.
Surrounded by high city walls, they had to pass through the city gate to enter.
People were lined up in front of the gate, waiting to enter. Officials and soldiers thoroughly checked identities before allowing people in.
Seeing this, Do Yeonsan wore a troubled expression.
They had been moving stealthily to avoid Guryongsalmak's eyes, and revealing their identities at the gate would render all their efforts futile.
Moreover, Wind Saint was riding in the carriage.
If people found out Wind Saint had entered, the whole city would be in chaos.
"Brother? What should we do?"
As Do Yeonsan looked dismayed, someone approached their carriage.
A middle-aged man with a goat's beard, slightly bent at the waist and walking at a steady pace.
He walked casually up to the carriage and looked up at Pyo Wol on the roof.
"Are you Grandmaster Pyo?"
"Who are you?"
"Indeed. I am Geum Pishang of the Hao Clan’s Soyang branch."
"Hao Clan?"
"Yes! I received a message from Chengdu, and have been waiting for you. As expected, you have arrived."
Geum Pishang smiled brightly.
He was the head of the Hao Clan’s Soyang branch.
It had been two weeks since Geum Pishang received the letter sent by Gwi An.
Roughly, the content was to send someone to cooperate when they arrived.
The problem was the identity of the person arriving.
It was none other than Pyo Wol.
Pyo Wol was a person that even Hong Yushin, the chief inspector, cared about.
If Pyo Wol was really the one arriving, he couldn't send his subordinates. So every day, as the date of Pyo Wol's expected arrival drew nearer, Geum Pishang came out to the gate and stood waiting.
Geum Pishang said politely,
"Please follow me."
He led the party to the city gate.
The soldiers didn't stop him.
They knew Geum Pishang's status.
He was a native of Soyang and had been managing the place for a long time with great care. Thanks to this, he had safe passage to most places.
Even though the soldiers saw Geum Pishang for the first time, they didn't even approach the carriage.
Thanks to this, Pyo Wol and his party could easily enter Soyang.
As soon as they entered Soyang, Geum Pishang said,
"Follow the main road, and you'll come across the guesthouse district. Find Hoyeon Guesthouse. It's a guesthouse run by our Hao Clan, so you can go straight to the annex."
"Thank you for your consideration."
"It's nothing. It's natural for something involving Grandmaster Pyo."
Geum Pishang extended both hands to Eun-yo's words of gratitude.
Pyo Wol and Hao Clan were inseparable.
This level of consideration was only natural.
"You must be tired from the long journey, so please rest first. I'll come to see you separately in the evening."
"Yes! See you later."
"Then..."
Geum Pishang bowed to Eun-yo and disappeared with a trot.
Do Yeonsan drove the carriage as Geum Pishang had told him.
After driving the carriage for about a day or so, the guesthouse district appeared. Do Yeonsan looked for the Hoyeon Guesthouse among them.
Finding the Hoyeon Guesthouse wasn’t difficult. It stood out in the best location.
As soon as they arrived, the innkeeper came running quickly.
"Welcome."
The innkeeper was also a member of the Hao Clan.
He instantly recognised Pyo Wol's identity and spoke.
"Leave the horse to me and go to the annex."
"The horse must be tired from the long journey, so give it plenty of beans and millet. Can you do that?"
"Of course. I'll take good care of it, so don't worry."
Do Yeonsan's request was met with a bright expression from the innkeeper.
"Thank you!"
Do Yeonsan threw a silver coin to the innkeeper.
He smiled at the unexpected income.
While the innkeeper took the horse to the stable, Pyo Wol and his party entered the annex.
The annex was surrounded by tall walls, providing privacy from outside.
It was a lodging specially prepared by the Hao Clan.
"Whew! Everyone's worked hard. Take a good rest."
Wind Saint spoke as if it were his own home.
True to an annex, the rooms were spacious.
There was enough for each person to have a room with some left over.
Eun-yo, Do Yeonsan, and Nam Shin-woo quickly claimed their rooms.
"I'll take this one."
"I'll sleep here."
"Ah! Nice."
All three had traveled a long way and were quite tired.
Seeing the comfortable bed, they already wanted to lie down.
Pyo Wol said,
"Everyone should wash up and rest until dinner."
"What about you?"
"I'll take a look around the neighborhood and come back."
"Alright!"
Do Yeonsan nodded, knowing that Pyo Wol had a habit of thoroughly inspecting any new place he visited.
Normally, he would have followed Pyo Wol, but now he wanted to wash his whole body with cool water and take a good rest.
Then, Wind Saint said to Pyo Wol,
"Great timing. I was about to go out too. Let's go together."
"You too?"
"Since we're in Soyang, I have to visit the Gi family clinic."
"Let's go together."
Pyo Wol nodded.
He was curious about what kind of place the Gi Family Clinic was.
Knowing about the doctor with the mysterious medical skills was like carrying a spare life.
There was no harm in knowing, so he gladly accompanied Wind Saint.
Pyo Wol left the annex with his hat pulled down deeply.
Wind Saint said,
"You must be tired too."
"Of what?"
"Your handsome face. Your distinct features make it easy for people to remember you, so you have to cover your face like that, don't you?"
"I'm used to it."
"Girls must chase you a lot. Your face is full of charm."
"Were you always so talkative?"
"Are you saying I'm noisy?"
"Exactly!"
"The way he speaks... tsk!"
Wind Saint clicked his tongue with a displeased expression. However, he didn't feel particularly bad since he had figured out Pyo Wol's temperament while being with him.
The two walked side by side through Soyang's bustling streets.
The streets were wide and clean.
The faces of the people passing by were also full of vitality.
It was proof that the city was well organized.
"Somewhere around here?"
Wind Saint briefly recalled his memory in the center of the intersection and soon entered the west street.
As they went deeper into the west, a street with a different atmosphere appeared.
A heavily sunken atmosphere, shabby buildings on the verge of collapse.
Pyo Wol immediately recognized the nature of this place.
'A slum.'
Slums exist in every city.
On the surface, it seemed glamorous, but behind it were people struggling to survive at the bottom of society.
Soyang was no different.
There were luxurious mansions and well-dressed people around the main streets, but in the shadow of the city, there were poor people who had been helplessly pushed here.
"Tsk!"
Wind Saint clicked his tongue, seemingly displeased with the atmosphere of the slum.
"Is the Gi Family Clinic in the slums?"
"It's a tradition of the Gi family to provide medical care in the lowest part of society. They've been here for generations and have never left. So they should still be here."
"Really?"
"They are stubborn. With that kind of medicine, they could be living in the city center in a nice house, but they choose to stay in the slums."
Wind Saint looked down on everything in the world. However, even he held a strand of respect when talking about the Gi Family Clinic.
It was a sight to behold for those who knew Wind Saint well.
It was extremely unusual for someone so arrogant and condescending to evaluate another group so highly.
After searching through the maze-like alleys for quite a while, Wind Saint finally found the Gi Family Clinic.
"Here it is. Fortunately, it still exists."
He pointed to a small house.
Like any other house in the slum, it looked like it would collapse at any moment.
The word "medical room" was written in cursive next to the door.
The door was creaking on its hinges as if it could fall off at any moment, making one wonder if it was really a medical room.
Wind Saint walked towards the Gi Family Clinic without hesitation. However, his steps didn't last long before stopping.
"Who are you?"
"Stop!"
Dozens of poor people had come out of the slums to block his path. They surrounded the Wind Saint as if to protect the Gi Family Clinic.
"Ha!"
Wind Saint sighed in frustration.
The poor people's behavior was both funny and understandable.
For those living here, the Gi Family Clinic was their only lifeline.
The Gi Family Clinic provided medical care to the poor without asking for anything in return.
There was not a single person living here who hadn't sought help from the Gi Family Clinic.
So when a stranger approached it, they stood in their way.
One of them, a particularly young and vigorous-looking man, swept his eyes over Wind Saint and Pyo Wol’s bodies and said.
"You don't seem to belong here. What brings you this far?"
"We came to receive treatment at the medical room. Why else would we come?"
"No, why not go to a good doctor in the city center? Why did you come all the way here?"
"Haha, you've got quite the spirit, huh!"
Wind Saint laughed loudly.
In an instant, the poor people blocking his way covered their ears and staggered. Their brains were shaken by Wind Saint's powerful voice. The young poor man who had spoken to Wind Saint was no exception.
"Ugh!"
His eyes bulged as if they were about to pop out.
That's when it happened.
"That guy, still so hot-tempered. Stop bothering innocent people and come here."
An old man came out of the medical room, clicking his tongue.
